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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Head Meetings Minutes 12.08.2009MINUTES DEPARTMENT HEAD MEETING DECEMBER 8, 2009 3:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Bill Sheridan Mary Embleton Rick Musson Sam Painter Kurt Markegard Derek Yeager Christina Kracher Nancy Schmidt James Caniglia Council Workshop A ends - December 8 2009 General items Fire / Ambulance: * Resolution - Agreement with AMR for Advanced Life Support Services Derek spoke regarding the agreement, which will address procedures for intercepts for ALS services. With the agreement, the City of Laurel would get reimbursed $130 plus supplies for each intercept. Actual transfers would be determined on a case-by-case basis. The agreement would be permanent until revisions are needed or the agreement is cancelled. Public Works Department: • Discussion - Amending the Rules & Regulations for Utility Services - Bulk Water Resale Kurt stated that the Public Works Committee discussed this issue last night and he will present information to the city council for further discussion. Issues include zoning, business licenses, and insurance requirements. After discussion by the council, the final draft will be prepared and presented at a future council workshop. • Resolution - Great West Engineering, Amendment 1 to Task Order No. 10 - 2009 Street Maintenance Kurt stated that the amendment to Task Order No. 10 is for additional engineering work done by Great West after the city increased the street maintenance project. Clerk/Treasurer: • Resolution - Budget amendments Mary stated that budget amendments were needed for items that were overlooked during the budget process. No public hearing is required. Chief Administrative Officer: • Resolution - Contract for roof replacement at the Laurel Library Bill stated that four bids have been received, but the bids might be premature. Nancy faxed the bids to Mark at MMIA but has not received a response. Mary stated that, since one bid is close to $50,000 and the others are over $50,000, it would be prudent to complete the formal bid process for this project to ensure that all bidders bid from the same specifications and the city complies with bid requirements. There was discussion regarding the need for a 24-gauge metal roof with rain gutters and snow guards. Kurt will help prepare the specs for the bid. Executive Review: Appointments: Department Head Meeting Minutes of December 8, 2009 o Police Officer: Anthony Contreraz Rick stated that the new police officer will attend tonight's council workshop. The appointment and swearing in ceremony will be on the December 15th council agenda. • Laurel Urban Renewal Agency o Bruce McGee to a 4-year term ending 12/31/2013 Bruce McGee replaced Bill Kampfer on the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency. • Police Commission o Mike Michunovich to a 3-year term ending 12/31/2012 The reappointment will be on the December 15'h council agenda. • Board of Health - 3-year term ending 12/31/2012 • Park Board -term ending 12/31/2010 No letters of interest have been received. • Council Issues: o Status of East 8th Street and street repairs (Emelie Eaton) Kurt stated that the street has been paved and no complaints have been received. Millings were laid on the north side of the asphalt and further down the street past the waterline repairs. o Update on "good neighbor fence" in Elena Subdivision (Chuck Dickerson) The developer recently informed Sam that he was going to hire an attorney and Sam should hear from him soon. Other items There were none. Review of draft council agenda for December 15, 2009 • Ordinance No. 009-11: Ordinance amending Section 2.68. 100 of the Laurel Municipal Code, amending the 3rocedure to modify the City Judge's salary. (1" reading - 11/17/2009; PH - 12/01/2009; 2" reading -12/15/2009) The public hearing for the. water rates is scheduled on December 22nd and the resolution to increase the water rates and charges is scheduled at a special council meeting on December 29th. Mary stated that the public is allowed to ask questions at tonight's and next Tuesday's meetings. Staff should respond that the questions are noted and will get back to the individual. Bill mentioned that Mayor Olson asked that the water rate information be provided to businesses. Larry Tanglen did not plan to publish more information regarding the water rate increase, but he agreed to meet with Mary and Kurt later this week. Mary suggested scheduling a courtesy meeting with Cenex, MRL and the bulk water resellers. Bill stated that Mayor Olson wants to review and approve all agenda items. Kurt gave an update on the state project. The stoplight should be in operation in three to four weeks, the concrete work is done until next spring, and more asphalt work could be done in warmer weather. The Outlook will publish an update on Wednesday. Department Reports: 2 Department Head Meeting Minutes of December 8, 2009 Clerk/Treasurer Mary stated that the city will close on the sewer loan by the end of December in order to avoid complications. Draft documents will be received next week. Public hearing notices will be mailed to the city's water customers by the end of the week. Mary is working on year-end closing entries. DEQ representatives will be in Laurel on December 10th and 18th to discuss financial issues and to inspect the sewer and water projects. Mary will be gone sometime during the Christmas season. Mary will distribute the November reports to department heads on Wednesday. Fire /Ambulance • Preparations for new fire station Derek is waiting to hear from the buyers of the buildings. He may need to look at another lot if the process gets more complicated. CTA is reviewing the FAP blueprints and preparing the final documents and cost proposals for the FAP remodel. Derek stated that a contract is being prepared to outsource the ambulance billing, which is getting quite complicated. The cost would be a yearly fee of 8.2 percent or $50/call. Library • Roof replacement There was no further discussion. • Status of City of Laurel's website Nancy corrected the errors on the website and added the council minutes. Council, committee and board agendas need to be posted on the website. Police D artment Rick explained the need for service contracts with Industrial Electronics and with PLANT. There was discussion. Rick will give the contracts to Sam for review when they are received. City Planner • Various grants The Planning Board approved a 10 percent increase for the planning fees, except for residential variances, annexations, and cash in lieu of parking spaces. New fees were recommended for zoning compliance permits and zoning clarification forms. James will wait until next year to apply for the Safe Routes to School grant and he will work with Chad on this. Bill distributed an article about available Federal funding. James stated that Jerry Ray is trying to go around state law requiring property owners to hook into water and sewer services if available within 500 feet of a property. Mr. Ray will go before the county 3 Department Head Meeting Minutes of December 8, 2009 commissioners. James talked to the DEQ, which does not want septic systems installed when the property is so close to utility services. Public Works Department • Construction of a storage building Kurt gave an update on the storage building, which will have four bays for three solid waste trucks and the roll-off truck. Requests for bids will go out in late January and construction should start in March. • Status of water distribution upgrade The project is on standby until the pumps and the block are delivered. • Status of Main Street from 1 " to 8a' Avenues A draft letter regarding Tim Casey's easement request has been written, reviewed and will be sent soon. • SE 4t' Street Kurt stated that the one-year walkthrough for the storm water project needs to be done on December 12''. He will request that the walkthrough be postponed until the weather improves. COP repaired a broken waterline last week. • Report on progress with South Laurel Business SID Three property owners (Locomotive Fitness Center, Locomotive Inn, and Dr. Stokke) need to pay by the end of this week. The additional $186 will be taken out of the Gas Tax Fund. • Status of Wastewater Plant upgrade The contractors tapped the line today and the fire hydrant issue was resolved last week. • Ditch mitigation ARRA grant project - 7`1' Street Kurt will contact Bill at CHS today regarding the plans. The project will be advertised and go to bid in January. Kurt stated that interviews for the mechanic position were done on Friday. A background check will be done and the committee's recommendation will be submitted to the Mayor soon. The city crew has been sanding during the recent snow. There have been no water breaks and few frozen meters. City Attorney Sam received a draft Personnel Implementation and Instruction Guide from Paul Hutter. Since the Insurance Committee information was incorrect, Sam sent the correct information to Paul for changes. Sam reviewed the corrective action plan document and sent it to Mary to distribute. Mary said that she did not receive the document. A letter was sent to the State regarding a property owner's cracked foundation. The State responded and then sent a letter to the contractor. Mayor Olson There was no discussion. 4 Department Head Meeting Minutes of December 8, 2009 Chief Administrative Officer • Schedule of Fees and Charges Bill asked department heads to submit changes this week. There was discussion regarding how to handle the fees for the Planning Board. James stated that the county commissioners want the city council's recommendation before they review the fees. Mary stated that the planning fees should be referred to but not included in the schedule of fees and charges. Sam stated that the process should be figured out before going forward. Kurt stated that the Public Works Committee discussed the fees and charges. The committee recommended leaving the pool fees at $2.00/day and increasing Riverside Park camping fees to $20.00, $15.00, and $12.00. Mary asked regarding issues with renting city parks. Sam stated that the Park Board needs to address the issue. There was discussion regarding an administrative fee, reserving whole parks vs. reserving a park shelter, allowing the public to make money while using public parks, the lack of and need for a parks and recreation department to manage the parks, and the need to set up guidelines and regulations. • Impact Fees There was no discussion. • City's lease of railroad property on Main Street for various uses Bill stated that work is being done on the leases. • Bus Transit System Bill stated that two bids were received for the bus transit system. One contractor already has the dispatcher, drivers and a grant writer. Other The Montana Rural Water Conference is scheduled in Great Falls on February 17" to 19'. The DNRC will give a presentation on water rights. Kurt stated that the City of Laurel needs to retain its water rights and not be forced to give them back. The public hearing to increase water rates is scheduled for December 22nd. Harry Whalen has offered to attend the public hearing. The meeting adjourned at 4:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, " aw-'L4,- Cindy Allen Council Secretary 5